~ Seasonal fragrance and flavour from my country kitchens in England and France....celebrating local seasonal produce with traditional feasts and festivals, culinary notes, reviews, recipes and musings from home and abroad....whilst preparing family food with flair ~

5:2 Diet Spiced Moroccan Cauliflower Couscous -Tabbouleh with Halloumi (56 calories) It’s been a while since I shared a new 5:2 diet recipe, but I hope I’ve made up for my tardiness with the recipe I’m sharing today, a recipe that I have been making for about 5 or 6 years, from my “Pig to Twig”…

Cast Iron Recipes! Cooking with “Le Creuset” Comfort Chicken Casserole What could be better than a comforting plate of chicken casserole as autumn leaves begin to fall in their hundreds and aromatic wood smoke spirals around brick chimneys……….pearl grey mists greet me on my way down to open up the chickens every morning and the Robin is sporting…

Sel la Vie Tomatoes and Twice Baked Potato, Cheese and Bacon Gratin This last week has been a glorious late summer holiday, with my daughter visiting, and the weather in SW France being positively balmy with temperatures in the late 20’s and clear azure skies, it’s been like the late birthday gift you never expected, and…

Cooking with Herbs: A Virtual Herbal Cookbook & Round-Up of Recipes! Welcome to July’s Cooking with Herbs Recipe Round-Up, and what an amazing variety of entries we had once again, with thanks to all of you who linked up! The suggested theme was BASIL, but as regular readers know, I accept ALL recipes that…

Gluten-Free Veggie Snack: Courgette & Feta Cheese Fritters with Chilli Mint Yogurt Dip Once upon a time, in what seems like another lifetime, I ran a restaurant in Cyprus. We used to cook traditional Greek and Turkish Cypriot cuisine as well as weekly specials for the ex-pats such as fish and chips on Friday, Sunday…

An Easy Midweek Summer Recipe: Tabbouleh Stuffed Tomatoes Now that summer seems to have officially arrived in the UK, and France, it’ s nice to spend a bit more time outside and maybe a little less time in the kitchen. So, it’s time to look at simple and easy to prepare recipes, ones that will…

The International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds & Medieval Stuffed Eggs Recipe Regular readers will know that I am a big fan of historical recipes, ingredients and cooking, and I have been working on a Historical British cookbook over the last few years, so I was delighted to accept an invitation to this years International…

“Arabian Nights” Tabbouleh Salad Recipe for the NEW App Uniform Foodies No, I am not dating, and I already have a man in my life who used to be in uniform – that’s my dad who used to be in the Royal Navy, so let me explain the title of today’s post. I am part…

June Thrifty & Organic Meal Planner: Salmon, Watercress & Strawberry Delights! Welcome to June’s Thrifty and Organic Meal Planner; this month I have created three simple recipes that won’t break the bank or take up too much time in the kitchen; and, one of the component parts of the salmon recipe, the watercress and spring…

Meet Karen

Bienvenue! I'm Karen; it’s lovely to see you here. I share my time between beautiful North Yorkshire and SW France. I am a freelance writer and recipe developer with a passion for art, travel, books, photography, seasonal food and especially cheese! Please do get in contact with me if you have any questions about my work or commissioning me. Read More…